Highline Beta acquires Female Funders, to empower and support 1000 women to become active angel investors by 2020
We’re excited to announce the acquisition of Female Funders this morning, in a continued effort to empower and support new and experienced female investors and entrepreneurs.
Women represent only 20% of angel investors and 6% of deal-making venture capitalists. And while female founders are the fastest growing segment of entrepreneurs, they receive a miniscule 2.7 per cent of venture funding. Highline BETA hopes to change these ratios by demystifying angel investment and by creating opportunities to co-invest with leading female investors through the Female Funders platform.
Highline BETA is a deep believer in diversity and education through action. We need more diversity to drive innovation forward, to provide a broader variety of perspectives and approaches, from people of all backgrounds and genders. Female Funders is an important addition to the Highline BETA family to help inspire the next generation of female angel investors and support more female founders.
Female Funders provides online education, access to deal flow and a global community of female investors and innovators. The site includes interviews featuring the who’s who of female angel investors in Canada and the US, including Joanne Wilson, Nanon de Gaspé Beaubien-Mattrick (Beehive Capital), Lally Rementilla (Coco Capital), Esther Dyson and Renee DiResta. As well, Female Funders will be helping female investors build their first angel investment portfolio. Other resources available on the site include a take action guide on how to get started as an angel investor, a jargon free glossary of investment terms, and a curated reading list of all the best angel investment resources and courses available online.
Katherine Hague launched Female Funders in August 2015. Previously, Katherine founded and exited Shoplocket (acquired by PCH International), a Highline VC portfolio company. Marcus Daniels joined the Female Funders Advisory Board alongside the launch in 2014. Highline has been a strong supporter of female entrepreneurs and investors over the past few years, women founders represent 30% of their active portfolio founders.
“I’m excited to work with the team at Highline BETA to co-create the next evolution of Female Funders. We have a deeply aligned vision on how to move the dial on diversity and support more women in tech.” says Katherine Hague, Founder of Female Funders. Highline BETA will support Female Funders’ next evolution through their co-creation model, led by Lauren and team initially, with a continued mission to empower 1000 women to become active angel investors by 2020 through blended education (in-person & online), building a portfolio of syndicated deals and building a global community in key startup ecosystems.
Visit Female Funders at http://www.femalefunders.com/ or follow Female Funders on Twitter @FemaleFunders to learn more.
Female Funders will also be hosting an invite-only lunch for investors at AngelFest today, and sponsoring 10 free tickets to women investors to attend. Please apply here if you’re interested.